Stories from Friday, January 20, 2006

Dianne Becker's travels have taken her far from the small town of Williamsville, Mo., in Wayne County where she grew up. In more than two decades of working in broadcast news and filmmaking she has been all over the United States and to such remote locations as the jungles of Central America and Southeast Asia...

About 100 Cape Girardeau County residents have used the free prescription drug discount card since it was issued by the county last November. Sponsored by the National Association of Counties, the card is intended to help uninsured and under-insured residents...

Sit back and relax. That's what Kent Library director Dr. Sarah Cron wants students to do whether they're engaged in research or just reading a good book. Cron believes a $296,000 remodeling project inside the Southeast Missouri State University library will provide that relaxed environment...

Our first son was born 36 years ago. We were excited and scared. Thank goodness we soon got over the scared part. So 32 years ago we had a second son. We have never stopped being excited about our two sons. If there is a Big Plan for our lives, I believe it includes sons in some significant way...

Two Scott County men pleaded guilty in federal court to illegal possession of firearms. Jessie L. Mercer, 28, and Jonathan R. Ward, 29, were accused of breaking into a New Madrid County home May 31 and stealing seven firearms they later tried to resell...

BENTON, Mo. --After his election in November 2004, Rick Walter didn't waste any time getting to work as Scott County sheriff. Bill Ferrell, who had been sheriff for 28 years, left office on Dec. 31, 2004. That night Walter was ready to assume his post, entering his new domain at the stroke of midnight...

A proposal for additions to the Cape Girardeau Public Library aims to transform the building into a modern community hub. Thursday night, an architectural firm unveiled a plan to double the size of the library to 38,000 square feet. The plan would expand the size of the children's section, add a drive-through window, double the size of the computer lab and add a meeting place where patrons can enjoy coffee and conversation...

Southeast Missouri State University enrollment stood at 8,882 students on the first day of spring semester classes Tuesday, up 5.5 percent over a year ago. The university has 7,966 undergraduate students, up 6.7 percent, school officials said. Freshmen enrollment provided much of the numbers boost, officials reported...

WASHINGTON -- Matt Pettinger scored in the fourth round of a shootout, giving the Washington Capitals their season-high third straight victory, 5-4 over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. After Capitals goaltender Olie Kolzig kicked away a shot by Scott Young, Pettinger beat Curtis Sanford, providing Washington with its first three-game winning streak since January 2003...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams hired Miami offensive coordinator Scott Linehan on Thursday, the sixth first-time NFL head coach to land a job in the last two weeks. The team called a news conference for today to introduce their fourth head coach since moving to the Midwest in 1995...

Rodeo fans in Southeast Missouri don't have to wait very long between events on the calendar. There are quite a few, including the Bootheel Rodeo in Sikeston, which has been chugging along for 53 years. The Show Me Center Championship Rodeo has quite a bit of tradition as well, with the 18th annual event ready to begin at 8 tonight. This year's two-day event has another session at 8 p.m. Saturday...

By Dennis Prager To understand any political ideology, one must understand what most animates it. For the Left, it is hatred of inequality. As noted in a previous column, the Left hates inequality even more than it hates evil. Or perhaps more accurately, for the Left, inequality is the ultimate evil...

St. Joseph (Mo.) News-Press Kansas is doing everything it can lately to make Missouri feel superior when it comes to our public schools. Our sister state's battle over evolution is now famous, if not infamous. But a new battle over the state funding for public education could add another black eye for Kansas...

ST. LOUIS -- It turns out the first game at the new Busch Stadium won't even involve the Cardinals. The team announced Thursday that its top two minor-league affiliates, the Class AAA Memphis Redbirds and Class AA Springfield Cardinals, will play a "warm-up" game at 6:10 p.m. April 4 at the new stadium currently under construction just south of the site of the demolished Busch that was home to the Cardinals for 39 years...

Betty Jean Cox, 73, of Springfield, Mo., died Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2006, at Cox Medical Center South in Springfield. She was born Aug. 4, 1932, in Jackson, daughter of Lawrence Ray and Vida Mae Smith Williams. She and Donald Ray Cox were married Dec. 8, 1951...

Mary Janice Criddle Marlin Fadden, 82, of Sterling, Ill., died Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006, at Rock Falls Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Rock Falls, Ill. She was born July 26,1923, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of William and Verda Stroder Criddle. She and Wayne Fadden were married June 9, 1984, in Rock Falls...

CAIRO, Egypt -- His voice was soft, as it was in previous recordings. His tone was flatter than in the past and had an echo, as if recorded indoors. But there was no mistaking Osama bin Laden's message as he broke more than a year's silence. The al-Qaida leader, who is believed to be hiding in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan, warned in an audiotape aired Thursday that his fighters are preparing new attacks in the United States...

Grace Katherine Gerhardt, infant daughter of Kevin and Jennifer Biri Gerhardt of Jackson, passed away Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call Saturday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. The funeral will be at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home...

Not disruptive; Broken windows; Miners live well; A good idea; No big deal; Church politics

Rod Marinelli, who spent the past 10 seasons in Tampa Bay as defensive line coach, was named head coach of the Detroit Lions on Thursday.. In his time with the Buccaneers, Marinelli's unit helped establish an NFL record with 69 straight games with at least one sack from 1999-03. He had the title of assistant head coach added in 2002...

To the editor: In response to the letter "Is Jackson ready for turbans, saris?": Obviously it wasn't. If it had been my child denied entry, I would not have hesitated to file a lawsuit instead of working through the school board. In fact, the agreement that was reached ensures that the school district will accept the turbans, saris and other ethnic wear so that a lawsuit shouldn't be necessary. ...

To the editor: Dear Governor Blunt (copy to Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon): Let's stop playing games with illegal aliens in Missouri. They are bankrupting the state treasury via welfare in addition to their putting additional pressure on the resources of law enforcement while simultaneously violating the health and well-being of citizens of this state. ...

Cape Girardeau...

TEL AVIV, Israel-- A Palestinian suicide bomber posing as a peddler blew himself up in a Tel Aviv fast-food restaurant Thursday and wounded 20 people in an apparent attempt to destabilize the region a week before Palestinian elections. Islamic Jihad, the only Palestinian faction boycotting the vote, claimed responsibility. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas accused the group of trying to sabotage the Jan. 25 election...

Mealy Bazzell, 93, of Jackson, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 14, 1912, near Burfordville, daughter of the late Linus and Dora Bell Crader Stroder. She and Paul Bazzell were married Aug. 4, 1929, in Cape Girardeau. He passed away in 1982...

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syria asserted Thursday that Iran had a right to atomic technology and said Western objections to Tehran's nuclear ambitions were not persuasive. President Bashar Assad of Syria, a longtime Iranian ally facing its own international criticism, said he backed Tehran's moves toward nuclear power and wanted to strengthen ties...

Margaret K. Brethorst, 89, of University City, Mo., died Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006. She was born in Jefferson City, Mo., daughter of J. Henry and Leona Kerperin Schulte. She and Harvey Louis Brethorst were married in 1941. Brethorst was a 1934 graduate of St. ...

ORAN, Mo. -- Ralph Samuel Evans, 92, of Oran died Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006, at Chaffee Nursing Center in Chaffee, Mo. He was born Feb. 26, 1913, in Maynard, Ark., son of John and Goldie Culver Evans. He and Geraldine Fowler were married Feb. 19, 1936. She died Jan. 11, 1969...

Larry Dean Burford, 73, of Scott City died Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 31, 1932, in Cape Girardeau, son of Patrick and Loretta Francis Smith Burford. He and Lorene Ervin were married May 28, 1959, in Cape Girardeau...

Albert Edwin Byrd, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born June 17, 1927, in Brownwood, Texas, son of Robert and Ina Rainey Byrd. He and Vivian Sue Jacobs were married Nov. 14, 1981, in Cape Girardeau...

NEW YORK -- Wilson Pickett, the soul pioneer best known for the fiery hits "Mustang Sally" and "In The Midnight Hour," died of a heart attack Thursday in a Reston, Va., hospital, according to his management company. He was 64. Chris Tuthill of the management company Talent Source said Pickett had been suffering from health problems for the past year...

Once again, United Way of Southeast Missouri has exceeded its latest fund-raising goal. Donations are well over the $1.1 million target set last year, when natural disasters placed a heavy demand on generous donors. United Way funds programs in Cape Girardeau County, Scott City, Perryville and Marble Hill. The fact that these communities understand the need for these programs -- 40 in all -- underscores the giving by so many individuals, institutions, businesses and industries...

Baseball...

MORLEY, Mo. -- Charlie Andrew Breedlove, 71, of Morley died Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006, at Sikeston Convalescent Center in Sikeston, Mo. He was born April 30, 1934, in Johnson County, Ark., son of Joe B. and Laura T. Pierce Breedlove. He and Euna Jewell Jordan were married July 21, 1952. She died Sept. 20, 1991...

25 years ago: Jan. 20, 1981 In observance of today's release of 52 American hostages from Iran, a community thanksgiving service will be held tomorrow at noon at the First Presbyterian Church; the service will be sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Ministerial Alliance...

'End of the Spear'; 'Underworld: Evolution'; Still in theaters; 'Casanova'; 'Cheaper by the Dozen 2'; 'The Chronicles of Narnia'; 'The Family Stone'; 'Fun with Dick and Jane'; 'Glory Road'; 'Hostel'; 'Hoodwinked'; 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'; 'King Kong'; 'Last Holiday'; 'Memoirs of a Geisha'; 'Munich'; 'The Producers'; 'The Ringer'; 'Rumor Has It'; 'Tristan and Isolde'; 'Walk the Line'; 'Yours, Mine and Ours'

Spring Dance Concert auditions Wednesday; Registration being taken now for spring art classes; Annual Show Me Center Rodeo returns today; Market House holds auditions for Kipling play; Missouri Citizens for the Arts to host legislature day; Missouri History Museum explores First Ladies

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Joshua F. Mull, 23, of Jonesboro died Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006, at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Ill. He was born March 22, 1982, in Murphysboro, Ill., son of Gary L. "Pinky" and Lynda G. Harvel Mull. Mull was a caterer with Great Boars of Fire in Anna...

Natural gas customers in several towns of Cape Girardeau and Scott counties will begin paying lower rates today under an order issued by the Missouri Public Service Commission. Atmos Energy Corp. is paying less for natural gas so customers get a break, PSC chairman Jeff Davis said in a news release. Atmos originally sought to lower rates as of Feb. 1, but the PSC ordered the immediate cut, Davis said...

Cape Girardeau...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Pluto is considered a planetary oddball -- a tiny, frozen world so unlike the other planets that some astronomers doubt whether it even deserves to be called a planet. Scientists came a step closer Thursday to understanding Pluto, launching an unmanned spacecraft on a 3-billion-mile journey to the solar system's last unexplored planet...

FORT CARSON, Colo. -- A U.S. State Department lawyer testified Thursday that an American soldier charged with murder in the death of an Iraqi general appears to have violated the Geneva Conventions on wartime conduct. Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr. is accused of killing Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush in 2003...

Prosecutor: Dems cut tires before election MILWAUKEE -- Witness testimony, cell phone records and other evidence show that five Democratic campaign workers punctured tires on vehicles Republicans intended to use to get out the vote on Election Day 2004, a prosecutor told jurors in closing arguments Thursday. ...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A string of beatings of three homeless men in Fort Lauderdale in a single night last week has cast a spotlight on a brand of crime activists say has practically become sport among young people around the country. Police say the attacks were carried out by a group of teenagers who piled into a car with baseball bats, a golf club and a paintball gun and went looking for homeless people to beat up...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- As a deadline neared for hostage American journalist Jill Carroll, Muslim leaders and her pleading mother appealed Thursday to kidnappers to spare her life and set her free. Referring to demands from Carroll's abductors that Iraqi women be released from U.S. custody, a senior Iraqi official said six jailed Iraqi women were due to be freed by the U.S. military...

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- The world knows various Courtney Loves -- she is the famously mercurial rock star who growled into the microphone as the bandleader of "Hole," one-half of the couple who defined grunge, the starlet who delivered an award-winning turn in "The People vs. Larry Flynt," the tabloid regular who seems to be constantly in and out of trouble...

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- As Wayne Cryts walks across the grounds of the now-defunct Ristine Co. today a wave of emotions comes flooding back to him. His mind is filled with memories of an event that happened here 25 years ago -- an event that would come to define his life and shake Southeast Missouri to its core...

Right off the bat, when I pulled the door shut on this week's test vehicle I was irritated by the goofy location of the door pull. "Why," I thought, "would Ford equip the best-selling SUV with such an awkward door pull?" But my irritation disappeared when I cranked the handsome steering wheel all the way to the lock and pulled away from the tight dealership parking space. ...

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tony Samuel has rounded out his first staff with the hiring of one more full-time assistant and two graduate assistants. In addition, the university has officially released its 2006 football schedule, although most of the opponents had already been announced...

Kelly and Scott County Central will meet tonight for the fourth time this season after both teams advanced to the championship game of the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament at Chaffee. The title game is set for 7:30. Top-seeded Kelly (11-5) knocked off No. 4 Oran (6-8) 69-49 on Thursday. Kelly's Russell Carroll led all scorers with 17 points, including four 3-pointers in the second quarter...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Natalie Purcell was feeling it from the start -- and that pretty much wiped out any upset hopes Tennessee State might have had. Purcell, Southeast Missouri State's senior forward, hit her first four 3-point attempts to help the visiting Redhawks build a big early lead on their way to a 78-35 romp Thursday night...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State fought an uphill struggle virtually the entire game Thursday night. But, just when the Redhawks appeared poised to climb over the mountain, Tennessee State again gained control. The result was a 68-63 loss, as the Redhawks began a two-game road trip by suffering their third consecutive defeat...

Three stars (out of four) "The Producers" is the latest comedy from the seasoned Mel Brooks. Brooks impressively wrote both the lyrics and music for the production. The music served its purpose well in helping to deliver the story of the two men, played by the original Broadway cast Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick...

Ritch Daughter to Kelly Jamison and Lisa Dawn Ritch of Cape Girardeau, Saint Francis Medical Center, 8:40 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, 2006. Name, Raven Nicole. Weight, 6 pounds, 2 ounces. First child. Mrs. Ritch is the former Lisa Ferrell, daughter of Pat Ferrell and Jerry Ferrell of Scott City. She is employed at Factory Card and Party Outlet. Ritch is the son of Karen Ritch of Cape Girardeau and Karl Grose of Scott City. He is employed at Hutson Furniture...

AmerenUE launched a counteroffensive Thursday to persuade the public that it responsibly operated a hydroelectric plant where a reservoir ruptured Dec. 14. The utility released a summary of a report it submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission about a Sept. 25 incident where water washed over the top of the reservoir. In a news release, AmerenUE said the overflow at that time was caused by high winds from the remnants of Hurricane Rita and "slightly elevated reservoir levels."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Cole County judge on Thursday upheld the language of a ballot proposal to protect stem-cell research and treatments in Missouri, rejecting a claim that the measure's stated ban on human cloning is misleading. Supporters of the proposed constitutional amendment, who have already raised more than $4 million toward the effort, immediately said they would start gathering the petition signatures needed to get it on the November ballot...

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Adios, Lleyton. G'day, Juan. Third-seeded Lleyton Hewitt was upset 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-2 by Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday, reversing the outcome of their spiteful previous encounter at Melbourne Park...

Dear Tom and Ray: I have a 1984 VW Vanagon (yes, it does break down a lot!). Anyway, I recently had a rebuilt engine put in it. However, the mechanic loused it up, but tried to convince me that that was as good as those engines could get. Not believing this, I eventually had to have another mechanic fix the problems. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Low-income Missourians struggling to pay high winter heating bills soon will get some help from the state. Gov. Matt Blunt signed legislation Thursday providing about $6.1 million in state energy aid. The bill had passed the Senate earlier in the day and cleared the House last week...